


But You Won't Love a Ghost

by TooGoodToBeBad



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Mentioned Blue Lions Students (Fire Emblem), Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27435031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooGoodToBeBad/pseuds/TooGoodToBeBad
Summary: Marianne takes a walk in the palace gardens. She doesn't expect to find him, not when Sylvain and the Professor are already looking.She finds him there anyway.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	But You Won't Love a Ghost

It seemed Fhirdiad was very kind to Dorte.

Marianne stifled a shy giggle behind her hand as she fed the horse another apple. While Dorte munched happily on the fruit, Marianne idly brushed his mane. “It’s good to see that the Royal Palace has been treating you well, Dorte. Apples and sugarcubes are much better food than the hay and grass we feed you back at the Monastery.”

Of course, Dorte didn’t respond (it would be quite the shock if he did), but the peaceful serenity of the moment was disturbed by two pairs of heavy sounding footsteps. Marianne turned her head and was greeted by the sight of Sylvain and Professor Byleth coming her way.

“Good day, Marianne,” Sylvain bowed with exaggerated grace. “Dorte the horse.”

“Oh, hello, Sylvain, Professor,” Marianne gave them a shy smile. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’m glad you asked, Marianne,” Sylvain cracked a wide and toothy grin. “Tell me, have you seen a tall, handsome, one-eyed blond man,” he raised his hand to some arbitrary point just above his crimson mane, “About yay high?”

“Do you mean Dimitri?” she replied.

A mischievous twinkle shined in Sylvain’s brown eyes as he turned towards Professor Byleth. “See, I told you that she thinks he’s handsome.”

The corners of Byleth’s mouth turned up in a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk. “That’s quite enough, Sylvain,” his voice was even as always. “But yes, Marianne. Have you seen Dimitri?”

She shook her head at them. “I can’t say I have. Why do you need him?”

“Felix was supposed to give him a haircut so he looks presentable for the dinner later, but he seems to have vanished,” Byleth said. “Of course, we know that he hasn’t, because he’s very tall and has no aptitude for magic. So he’s probably somewhere in the palace. So if you do see him, give us a holler, yes?”

Marianne nodded her head at them, and an expression she would probably describe as “vaguely pleased” crossed his face. “Thank you, Marianne,” he replied before clapping a hand on Sylvain’s shoulder. “Let’s go find him.”

The two of them strode past her and off towards some other place in the palace (she wasn’t too familiar with the layout herself), and she watched them turn a corner and disappear. 

“Well, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Dimitri, Dorte?” she asked as he continued to munch on. Once again, Dorte didn’t say anything, so she only sighed before giving him one more affectionate pat on the neck. “Well, I do hope they find him.”

Dorte neighed affectionately, and Marianne let out a bright giggle before bidding Dorte farewell and heading out to explore the gardens that Ashe was telling her about over breakfast.

* * *

She was quite surprised to find his hulking frame in the gardens. “Dimitri?”

With a slow, deliberate turn on his heel, he faced her. “Oh, hello, Marianne.”

“They’re looking for you, you know? Sylvain and the Professor.”

“I’d imagine so,” the chuckle that he let out almost seemed forced to her. “But I suppose I just needed some fresh air.”

He turned his gaze back to the flowers, a vibrant palette of reds, blues, yellows, and whites. “It almost feels strange to be back here. To be back home.”

She hesitantly made her way beside him. In the sunlight, stripped of his heavy armor and that nasty cloak he always wore, he seemed almost frail - he seemed human. His thick blond hair was tied back in a neat tail, revealing the strong and sharp angles of his jaw. She watched his deep blue eye blink at the flowers before he turned his head towards her. “You don’t have to stay out here for me, if that’s what you’re doing. I’ll find my way back inside.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what this is at all,” she hummed. “I like flowers.”

“Is that so?” he brought a hand to his chin and idly stroked at his stubble. “Tell me, Marianne, what do you think of the palace?”

She paused for a moment to contemplate. “It’s quite nice, I suppose. It’s very large, and it is superbly decorated. And the stables have been very kind to Dorte. But I wanted to see the gardens for myself, and I must say that they are beautiful. What was it like, growing up here?”

He gave her a fond and earnest smile. “I was a different person back then. I was a mere child, wide-eyed and naive. The palace always seemed too large to me. Perhaps even larger when my father died. But now that I get to share it with friends, it seems much brighter and more like home. Although I suppose I wouldn’t quite know what ‘home’ feels like these days.”

“I used to feel the same, you know.”

“That’s us: the hapless survivors,” he laughed, and something in her chest warmed when she saw his smile reach his eye. But her own smile faltered when an unreadable expression flickered on his face. “Even now, it is strange to think that I have survived this long. That so many people have died to get me to this point in life.”

She took his hand in hers, warmth blooming under her skin where his calloused fingers brushed against hers. “You told me once that there was a reason the Goddess allows you to live on.”

He blinked slowly at her words. “I remember that. Some days, I feel as if I cannot walk the path laid out before me,” his voice was suddenly much more grave and somber. It pressed down on her shoulders like lead. “Some days are better than others. But other times…” his voice trailed off.

Her hand felt so small tangled in his. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and she could see the way his shoulders tensed at the sudden contact. “Is that why you’re out here, then?” 

The sigh that escaped him sounded so weary, so resigned. “I suppose so. I’ve heard what the people are saying - that I’m some savior king, some grand leader. But I don’t know if I can be that for them. Some days I feel barely human, more a ghost or a monster than a man. And when I think of all the people we’ve lost along the way, the thought just weighs down on my soul like nothing else.”

“You’re not a ghost just yet, Dimitri,” she said gravely. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t think the Goddess gives us any burdens that we cannot bear. I used to think that I was unworthy of the life I’d been given, but you helped me to realize that life is precious. You helped me realize why I live, why I fight.”

“Marianne, I am no longer the boy you knew back in the Academy. That boy was primed for the throne - he had the world in his hands. Now I’m second-guessing if I am truly fit for the throne.”

She shook her head and gave him a wistful smile. “You don’t have to bear these hardships alone. There’s no shame in asking a friend to lighten your load. In fact, I’d say that one of the things that keeps me going is because I want to see you become the man I know you can be.”

“Is that so?” he seemed taken aback. “But this hand you hold could hold you down.”

“I don’t think that’s the case. In fact, I’d say it’s kept me grounded.”

He let out a short laugh at that. “You’ve always had a way with words, Marianne. You’ve got me feeling much better than I was a while ago. Thank you for being here.”

“Of course, Dimitri,” she replied softly. Her hand slipped away from his, but she didn’t mind too much. “Now I think it’s time for you to go back inside. It’d be rude to keep the Professor waiting.” 

“I suppose you’re right,” he chuckled, and the sound of it settled pleasantly in her chest. “It’s a long way, though. Walk with me, Marianne?”

She nodded her head and fell into step beside him.

She’d walked with him this far - no reason to stop just yet.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked this! Feedback and comments are appreciated!
> 
> This is a new pairing for me, with two characters that I'm not too familiar with writing. I hope they came off well here. It's always good to branch out and explore, especially with these two sad people who aren't so sad anymore. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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